Truth, Lie Live, Die
by Levias
Summary: Eventual ClavatxSelkie Possible YukexLiltie. Rated T for cursing, rating may change. The new caravan setting off from Tipa has some interesting people on it, as well as some big emotional turmoil on the horizon. I NEED A BETTER SUMMARY/TITLE
1. The Journey Begins

My first Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles FIc. I hope a lot of readers enjoy!

Characters-

Levias (love-I-us) Zephyr (ze-fear); the fifteen year old male Clavat, known among Tipa as the 'Scourge'. Few people know the truth compared to the rumors about him. He was framed for a killing of a previous caravan member. The village elders know otherwise, and serve as his guardians, even though he sleeps in the outskirts of town. In his childhood, he was a happy boy, and had a good Selkie friend named Mist. The person who he was framed in killing was her brother. It happened when he was about to turn fourteen. Mist believed that he honestly killed her brother, and hates him to the present day for it. Since the incident, he has had a permanent case of insomnia, but has gotten used to the lack of sleep. He is unusually fast, even more so than the Selkie race, and sometimes believes himself to be part Selkie. Finally, Levias has a natural affinity to the wind, so he is often found at the top of Tipa, enjoying the breeze, and playing the Lute. His only friend is a male Yuke named Drake, who never believed that Levias was capable of murder of his friend's brother. He is just about to set off on a caravan himself to redeem his name, save the village, and find the people who framed him.

Mist Terni (t-air-nee); a fourteen year old female Selkie, known throughout Tipa as a generous and kind girl (Which is odd because of her heritage). The only time she was ever seen angry was when Levias killed her brother. She couldn't believe it at first, but when all the evidence pointed to him, the love she had for her best friend turned into hatred. At even the mention of him, she becomes angry and hateful. She often calms down from this, considering he rarely showed himself among the village. She knows that he will be on the caravan with her, and will ignore him no matter what happens to him. Mist likes to cast spells as much as she likes to charge into a fight. She has a natural affinity to Water, and likes to go swimming a lot because of this. Her father is a merchant. Two of her friends will be on the caravan with her and Levias; Drake the Yuke and Petal the Liltie.

Petal Metal; fourteen year old female Liltie with a fiery passion for combat. She hates magic, only because she cannot even use the most simple of spell stones. Her father is the blacksmith in town, and is almost considered the best blacksmith in the entire world. People travel far and wide to have him forge something of their choice. Other than her combat yells and rash decisions, she is a relatively quiet girl. She likes to spend time with Mist normally, and sometimes with other teenagers in Tipa. The only people she doesn't like are the Yuke; Drake, and the Clavat; Levias. She has a natural affinity for earth, and likes to relax on top of soil or boulders.

Drake; sixteen year old male Yuke with a calm voice and analytical attitude. His specialty is magic, though he is stronger than the average Yuke. He likes to think problems through, observe them, and form up different ways to solve whatever is happening. Unfortunately, his abilities proved inferior when Levias was accused. He apologized repeatedly for months, before Levias almost yelled at him to stop. His father is a Farmer, and was a former caravan-traveler himself. He wanted Drake to learn how to last in the real world, so he is sending him off with Levias in the caravan. One of the many things he has in common with Levias is the case of permanent insomnia, except that is a trait for many Yukes. Drake has a natural affinity for Fire, and often stares into any flame that catches his eye through the darkness of his helmet.

(Time to start)

Wheels turning on dirt ground echoed in the trees. A blue beast walked, swaying from side to side, pulling a caravan with a teen Clavat sitting on front. The teen had black hair that covered half of his eyes in the front, but was short in the back. His grey eyes reflected no light, almost as if they were dead to the world around him. The caravan stopped at the entrance to a village. A banner read 'Tipa' about eight feet off of the ground. The teen sighed, and hopped off of the caravan, patting the beast on the head before walking into the town. The only people there to greet him were the elders. They smiled at him, and he nodded at them.

Not even a few seconds later, a tall Yuke stood beside the teen, nodding at him. The grey-eyed boy nodded back, before turning to face the elders, who were still smiling. Then, footsteps met their ears. They heard quick breaths, and then a Selkie and a Liltie stopped, panting. "Sorry that we're late…" the Liltie said, grinning shyly. The Selkie was glaring at the Clavat, hoping that her eyes could somehow turn into daggers and stab him over and over.

"You all know why you have been chosen. You each have skills that will be of use on this caravan. We hope you bring us a full chalice soon, so that you may spend the rest of our short year in relaxation." The male elder said, before his wife walked up to them, and handed the Yuke a Silver Chalice.

The Yuke and Clavat nodded, while the two girls smiled, the Selkie simply forgetting about the Clavat's existence. Soon enough, they were off. Three families waved goodbye as their children waved back. The Liltie and Selkie girls sitting on the back end. The Liltie family yelled out "Petal! Don't forget to sharpen your spear!" The Selkie family all happily yelled out "We're going to miss you Mist!" The Yuke family all stood, waving, and the smallest one said "Drake, make sure you bring back some Miasma." The elder's waved to all, but the Clavat sat in the front, reading the note that one of the elders had slipped into his black pants. _"We'll pray for your safety Levias…"_ It read in tight hand-writing.

When Tipa was out of sight, Mist sighed, looking over to Petal. "I'm going to miss them…" She said, but then smiled. "But this is going to be so much fun! Well, besides **it** being here…" She said, grumbling the ending. The Liltie nodded, and smiled. "Don't worry about the murderer. We're going to have a great time!" She said, nodding once more to Mist, before returning to look at the ground as they travelled on. Soon, the caravan was stopping. Mist grew angry instantly (due to the fact that Levias was the driver) and moved her head to the side of the wagon-like caravan, about to yell, when she noticed the Liltie knights talking to them. They offered a Moogle to the new caravan, which Drake nodded in thanks, before they kept on moving.

Drake looked curiously at the Moogle that held the chalice inside of the caravan. "Interesting…" He said to himself, before returning his attention to Levias. "So tell me, what weapons did you bring? I'm sure at least one person here forgot their own." He asked. Levias shrugged. "I have my short swords, a steel blade, an Orc hammer; in case yours breaks; a staff, and a club." He listed. Drake nodded, walking beside the blue beast that pulled the caravan. "So what is the plan for the first tree of myrrh?" Drake asked, being the analytical person he was.

Levias sighed, and shook his head. "I don't know. I figure that since you specialize in magic, and Mist is decent with spell stones, you two could provide magic support to the Liltie and me…" He said, thinking on the issue. Drake nodded, looking forward to being able to fight the monsters. "You know, I don't think she hates you within her heart. She's simply blinded by sorrow. Maybe you should apologize, even though you didn't do it. Say that you're sorry you couldn't save him. Say that you're sorry for hurting her. Just do it Levias…" came the calm voice of Drake.

Levias scowled, his eyes showing emotion for once. "What's the point? I know she won't forgive me. She'll always fucking hate me." He said in anger. Drake shook his head. "Levias, I just hope that one day you'll realize how much you two need each other…"

As night fell for the first night, an uncomfortable silence filled the clearing at which the caravan had stopped. "I'll be the night shift guard…" Levias said swiftly, so as to not have to see Mist for very long. She glared at him as he left the line of sight that their small campfire gave them. "I can't stand him…" She growled, before smiling at Drake and Petal. "So, do either of you know if we'll be at the River Belle by tomorrow morning?" She asked. Drake simply nodded, and Petal just shrugged. "As long as I get to slay some monsters, I'm fine."

Drake seemed to be staring at Mist, and soon as she noticed it, she figured out why. Through the shadow of his helmet, she could see his bright red eyes. They were disapproving, almost scorning. "You know, Levias did not murder him." Petal looked up, glaring at the Yuke. "Don't defend him. There is no one else who could have done it. The fact that you associate with him brings questions up about you."

Drake simply ignored her remark, still looking at Mist. Mist looked away, huffing. "Even you couldn't prove the evidence wrong. So there is no other way. I hate him anyways, so it doesn't matter." She said, before turning to Petal, about to start another conversation. "You don't. You are blinded by your disbelief and sorrow into a hateful state. One day you'll realize that you were wrong…I just hope you do before he does something drastic…" She looked back, but the Yuke was gone.

Petal growled. "Don't let him get to you. We both know that **he **did it." She said, laying a hand on Mist's shoulder. The Selkie nodded, before looking back into the fire.

Plucked musical notes made their way through the forest. Drake found his way to the source, sitting down next to a tree. Two grey eyes peered down from the upper branches. "Why are you here?"

"I just tried to talk to Mist. She knows that she's wrong. She just won't admit it." He explained. Levias sighed in an annoyed manner. "Drake. I know you're trying to fix what's left of my miserable childhood, but please don't waste your own time on it. You're too smart to be using your time fixing me. Use it to create some kind of cure for a disease." He said, waving his hands out slightly at the end. "Despite how much I hate being in a self-pitying state, just leave it alone and enjoy life as it is." He said, before playing the lute once more. The dark melody he played seemed to suit the mood of the night.

"Yea, we're finally here!" Petal exclaimed as the caravan stopped moving. Drake nodded from beside, and Mist hopped down with the Liltie from the caravan. "Let's go!"

So what did you all think? Good, bad, perfect? Review people!

**Next time; Go Die!**

"_Get back here you monster!" "…" "Don't ignore me! I know you did it! You should die for it!" "…So you want me to die?" "Yes! Death is what you deserve!" "…All right…" "What do you mean 'all right'?!" "I'll go die. You all stay here."_


	2. Go Die!

Alright, I realized last chapter that my breaks in between each group of paragraphs did not work, so I'll be trying another this time.

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Petal was almost hopping up and down in excitement. They had just arrived at the River Belle. "Yes! Time to practice with my new spear!" She exclaimed, jumping into the air.

Drake nodded, and grabbed a handful of magical orbs from his bag, and his own Orc Hammer. Mist smiled at the excited Liltie, and picked her own racket up with a few magic stones.

After Petal grabbed her spear, Levias pulled his short-swords out from his sides, and nodded forward. "We're going to try to stay together, alright? I've heard that this place is unbearably unpredictable."

They began to move forward into the first path, all tensed up. Drake was gripping his hammer tightly, so some of his feathers ruffled up on his hands.

Suddenly, three squirrels popped out of the ground, scaring Mist due to her looking around like a scared child. The squirrels were demented and coming straight for them. Petal thrust her spear into one, and Drake smashed one down into the ground, before burning it with his stone.

When they looked over to the last one, they went wide-eyed. It was against the wall, cleaved in three pieces. Levias stood in front of it, turning around to them. "Let's keep moving…" he said while picking up a small amount of Gil.

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"I can't believe that damned bridge had to go and freaking collapse…" Levias grumbled as he exited the river, kicking off a random fish. He shook himself of the water, and looked back up to the beginning of the bridge, hearing Petal yelling.

"Mist fell in! Mist fell in! Go get her!"

Levias' eyes widened as he dropped his weapons, and plunged himself into the water. As his body was engulfed by the lake, he felt instantly cooler, but also fearful. He hated water, but he reacted on instinct and upon his old-attitude, how he acted before the murder of Mist's brother.

'I can't stop now!' He yelled at himself. He looked down, and saw Mist slowly drifting down. He pushed himself with a force he didn't know he had, his eyes wide in the fresh water.

She almost touched the bottom when Levias grabbed onto her, wrapping his left arm under her legs, and his right arm under her back. He pulled her up to his chest, and kicked himself off of the ground, and surfaced.

Petal gasped, and Drake watched in a worried state as their comrades and friends emerged from the water. Levias was instantly paddling towards the shore, which surprised Petal. "Why is he trying so hard to save her?" She asked Drake. Drake's eyes became knowing, and he nodded. "He still cares for her…Which is amazing, considering all that has happened…" He explained, nodding once more.

"You guys go around, meet up here, I'll protect her!" Levias called up, a foreign emotion crawling into his eyes. Drake seemed to be smirking, but no one could really tell. Petal nodded, and rushed to the side, followed by Drake.

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(Levias' POV)

I turned and looked down at Mist. Her silvery hair was soaking, and her skin was dripping wet. I didn't want to set her down. But I knew that I had to. Cursing at myself for allowing feelings back into banned places in my mind, I turned to a scuffling sound. Setting Mist down, I pulled my short swords out. Water dripped off of my face as I faced the Fire Hedgehog that was rolling down the hill, towards me. It was soon missing its backside. It screamed, before disappearing into a black and purple dust.

That wasn't all that heard the bridge. There were two goblins, with a chieftan, who all picked up rocks, and aimed at…Mist!

I jumped in front of my comrade, deflecting the two small rocks, but being hit in the stomach by the larger one. "Die…" I whisper, rushing forward, surprising the brutish creatures. I slammed my blades into the large goblins neck, pushing off of him with my feet, and grabbing onto another goblin, pulling his arm all the way back, snapping bones. It screamed as it fell, and I grabbed its blade. The other goblin was returning from its shock, and rushed towards me, swinging its sword about like a child would.

I frowned, disappointed, and spun around it, stabbing it in the back, and through a vertebra. It died instantly, disappearing as the other creatures had. I picked up a strange artifact, a carrot, and my blades from the ground, placing them in my pack. I looked over to Mist, who was stirring awake. 'Good, now I don't have to sit here and get pounded by-' my thoughts were interrupted by a rock slamming into my side. I glared at a goblin that stood twenty feet away from me.

I think that's enough. I pull out a special blizzard stone of mine, and concentrate. Soon enough, the goblin is frozen solid. I walk up to it, and kick it, shattering the pieces of ice, and leaving a shivering goblin. I kicked it once in the chest, before stabbing its stomach. I then realized that my breathing was becoming shallow. Mist sounded like she was having trouble also.

'She can yell at me later…' I think, running over to her and picking her up, running in the direction I saw Petal and Drake go. I saw them about fifty feet away, running also. I feel my air running out. I use the last of my strength to jump into the magical bubble, and finally breathe in.

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(Third Person POV)

Drake went to reach for his friend, but said person jumped into the bubble, rather recklessly it would appear to anyone besides Drake.

"Mist! Oh Mist, you're awake! Thank god!" Petal exclaimed, jumping over to Mist, and helping her up. Mist looked around; obviously confused and worn out from the shallow breathing.

Drake was kneeling next to Levias. "Are you sure you wouldn't like some assistance?" He asked. Levias nodded, standing up weakly. He glared at Drake when he felt his body suddenly rejuvenate. "You wouldn't have been able to fight." Drake explained.

Levias sighed, shaking his still-damp black hair. He picked his weapons up off of the ground, and strapped them to his sides once more. Mist watched him in surprise and a slight amount of remorse as Petal told her that he saved her. "Why did you save me?" She asked, causing him to stop in his tracks, nearly stumbling into his next step.

He still faced away from them, the water dripping off of his clothes slowly, and onto the sandy path. "It was my fault that the bridge collapsed. I should have tested it first. So essentially it was my fault that you fell."

That's when Mist snapped. Levias had been cold and calculating to everyone, mostly her, since he was blamed for the murder. "Like I believe that! You're only in things for personal gain! What did you gain from killing my brother, huh? Who paid you to murder him? You are a low piece of trash! I can't believe that the elders allowed you on this trip!" She yelled at him, letting out a year of frustration. Petal was shocked and Drake sighed, stepping in front of her.

"He just saved your life and that's how you treat him? Don't you know how much crap he deals with from the other villagers because of being framed for the murder? He's already borderline depressed, and thanks to you, he probably just lost the last bit of self-esteem he had." Drake said sternly, glaring down at Mist, who glared equally as strong. Petal was afraid. Everyone was already getting on each other's bad sides. She didn't like to see friends fight.

"Guys…" She whispered, only to be ignored. Levias began to move, and the Moogle looked between him and the others, unable to decide who to go with. His choice was made as Mist began to follow Levias.

"Get back here you monster!" He made no sound or any response to her. "Don't ignore me! I know you did it! You should die for it!" He stopped at this, not looking back. "…So you want me to die?" His voice came out strangled, and it almost sounded like he was choking slightly. "Yes! Death is what you deserve!" She yelled it out to him, raising her fist, before pointing a finger at him. "…All right…" His words stopped her in her tracks. Her gaze softened and became confused. "What do you mean 'all right'?" She yelled, still confused. He turned his head to look at her with one eye. His eye was a dull and dark grey, instead of its normal grey sheen. "I'll go die. You all stay here."

Petal went wide eyed. Drake had a similar expression upon his face. Mist looked sorrowful. "Wait!" She yelled, but he walked out of the Chalice's protective barrier. Nothing happened. He kept walking forward, and still nothing happened. "How is he still living?" Drake asked no one in particular. Levias lifted a hand, carrying a chipped off piece of Tipa's large crystal. "I'll go die, but I'm going to make it worth something. You guys wait until you see a blaze of fire in this tunnel."

He gave them no other option as he entered the tunnel. "What were you thinking? He's the only one who knows how to call and control our caravan beast. And he is a great fighter!" Drake started calm, but ended up almost loosing it at the end. Mist looked away, ashamed. Petal walked up to her, glancing sadly at both of them. "We aren't just going to sit here are we?" She asked, hugging Mist slightly.

Drake nodded. "If we go in there, then Levias will probably be madder than he would if we don't. I know he won't die. He just needs to realize that he isn't alone…" He said in a wise manner.

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Back with our favorite Clavat, he finally reached a decision. "Never again will I eat seafood…" He grumbled as he dodged the large bubble of magic rushing towards him. He ran towards the beast, swinging harshly at its legs.

The giant crab squealed as its head armor popped off. Levias felt a small amount of arrogance surge within him, but he shook it away. 'I can't become arrogant; if I do I'll screw up…' He thought, jumping away from the jumping crab. "I don't even understand how that's possible!" He yelled, stabbing into its mouth.

The crab squealed once more, and Levias cut open a squirrel/Mo that was running towards him. "I hate crabs…" He grumbled once more, jumping out of the way of another magic bubble. 'Time to finish it…' He thought, running forward, and swinging his short swords in an 'X'. A grey formation appeared as his slashes missed. There was now a grey X in the air, causing Levias to jump back in surprise. The X sped towards the crab, putting an 'X' shaped hole into it. It squealed one last time, before disappearing in a flurry of purple and black dust.

"Damn…"

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So guys, how was this chapter?

Review!

**Next Time: Creepy Mist and Huge Shrooms**

"_Drake…Get them out of here…" Drake nods. "Levias?" Levias ignores her. "Petal needs healing, and our last Cure stone is cracked." He says, looking away. "Levias, listen to me!" Mist yelled, squeezing her eyes shut, leaning her upper body towards him to make her voice louder, having her arms against her sides with clenched fists. She felt slightly rough skin brush her face, but when she opened her eyes, Levias was already running away. She growled. "Levias, I'm coming with you!"_


	3. Interlude: The conversation

Alright guys, I'm finally writing again!

(Cricket sounds)

Oh...I thought I would get at least one 'Whoop'. Oh well, here's the awaited chapter of Truth, Lie – Live, Die

REVIEW

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Silence filled the camp that night. When Levias had returned, saying that the Guardian was gone, he had looked as if he saw a ghost. The others, knowing how pissed off he was about Mist's earlier comments didn't say anything, but went and collected the Myrrh.

Now that they had collected their first drop of the sacred liquid, they had to continue to the next area of the continent. That meant going through the Miasma stream.

Mist was staring at Levias as he cleaned one of his wounds, and wrapped medical tape around his own fingers. He seemed even more...Mist couldn't put her finger on it. He wasn't being cold...He was just being...Emotionless? No, there was a bit of something on his face. It looked almost like confusion. He would periodically look at that swords that sat beside him. Movement startled her as Drake stepped over to her, nodding, and sitting next to her.

"You see it too..." He commented, nodding at Levias. Mist nodded slightly. "Drake...You know him...Why...Why did he save me? I know that he hates the water..." She paused, a tear emerging from her left eye. "Why would he do that?" She finished her question.

Drake sighed, and stared at the fire that he had started. "Do you really want to know? You prosecuted him for saving you today. Are you going to do the same thing this time?" Drake accused, pointing a glare at her. Mist held her breath when she saw Levias stand up. The Clavat mentioned nodded at Drake, and walked into the forest, carrying a small object with him.

"Why don't you ask him?" Drake's words froze her in place as he stood, and went over to his tent. Petal was already sleeping, hugging her spear.

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The quick plucks of guitar strings filled the air of the night that Mist walked through, looking for Levias. She followed the sound of the lute that lulled small animals to sleep as they listened. Then the voice she knew very well began to softly sing. At first it was relaxing, but then Mist listened to the lyrics.

_Tell me...  
What do you see when you're looking back at me,  
Am I as perfect as you are to me...  
How do you dry up all my tears,  
And take away all my fears?  
How do you make me feel this way?  
Like I can take on anything..._

Mist shook tears out of her eyes, rubbing them with balled up fists. "You know it's not safe for you to be out here..." Levias said in a defensive tone, almost like he was protecting her. "I could say the same to you." Her voice cracked, weak from the silent cries she had released previously. Levias looked over to her from his spot on the ground, and his eyes widened.

No matter how cold he was, he never could stand to see her like this. And it was him that had caused this; just like he had caused so many more times. He wasn't sure what to do, in all honesty. Before the murder of her brother, Mist always came to him while she was like this. A part of him wanted to sit down next to her trembling form, and wrap an arm around her, whispering comforting phrases into her pale ears.

The other part of him wanted to ignore the first part of him. This was the part of him that wanted to run away with the chalice. It wanted to kill everyone. But he wouldn't let it, not in a million years.

**Just imagine seeing their faces, crying and screaming out to you as you laugh, watching them die...**

Levias' eyes widened even more. It was that voice. The one that haunted him in his sleep, but as soon as he could actually think, the voice was gone again. He turned back to the matter at hand, looking at Mist, who had her knees to her chest, sobbing slightly.

"Come on...You're not gonna let a murderer get to you like this, are you?" He asked, hopeful that it would cheer her up (Or anger her) so that she wouldn't cry, but she only cried more.

So for once (or twice, if you included the incident at the river) he acted upon his old personality. He sat down next to her, awkwardly wrapping his hand around her. Her sobbing quieted slowly afterward, until she was just hiccuping. "You really didn't do it, did you?" She asked him in a quiet voice. Without a moment's hesitation, he responded with a terse "No."

Silence wrapped around them for a few moments, before Mist whispered something. "What was that?" Levias asked, not hearing what she had said.

"I'm sorry..." The weak voice reached his ears like a breeze on a hot summer day. It was relieving, but bittersweet.

"Don't be. I'm hardly nature's finest work of a personality. I probably would have done worse if I were you." His voice grunted this sentence out as if nothing had happened at all.

"Are we...Can We..." She couldn't finish her question, but he did the honors for her. "Be friends again?" She nodded, and awaited his response. "Well, despite knowing how much crap I know Drake's gonna give me, yea..." He said, before standing and helping her up. "Let's get back to camp..."

And so they did, both knowing (Or hoping) that nothing else would happen to create another big issue.

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This was an interlude to keep all of you vultures busy while I write up the next chapter that actually has some ACTION in it.

How was it? Review!


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